LOCH GARTEN - March/April 2023

You may well wonder what happened to the much-vaunted "snaps" - but I'm not going there

Here some brief extracts of the two Crossbills, they were on the nest about 4 times during the afternoon up till something past 4:

His beak is stuffed with nesting material:

Unknown said:

About the female Osprey's name--do you know why the name was changed? Mistle seemed a perfect name to me and she is such a pretty bird.

LG HQ decided to keep the name Axel - after all, it was easy to associate it with the AX ring number.  However, they didn't want Mistle - for reasons unknown except maybe they didn't want to relinquish control totally... so they chose half a dozen names not including Mistle and put them out to the general RSPB membership (I think) for a vote and Asha won.

CRinger wasn't the only one of us with very, very strong and vocal objections.

Thank you Scylla, let’s hope that this is a successful year for this nest.

Thanks for starting the new 2023 thread Scylla. Also hope you are fully recovered soon so we can look forward to your usual amazing input. Really do hope, like all of us on this thread, for a very successful season for whatever ospreys claim the nest this year. Will look forward to reading every bodies comments, videos & pictures. A breakfast time treat.

scylla said:

Gardenbirder said:

About the female Osprey's name--do you know why the name was changed? Mistle seemed a perfect name to me and she is such a pretty bird.

LG HQ decided to keep the name Axel - after all, it was easy to associate it with the AX ring number.  However, they didn't want Mistle - for reasons unknown except maybe they didn't want to relinquish control totally... so they chose half a dozen names not including Mistle and put them out to the general RSPB membership (I think) for a vote and Asha won.

CRinger wasn't the only one of us with very, very strong and vocal objections.

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Thank you for starting the detailed opening thread SCYLLA.   

Regarding the females name, I remember that the Unringed Female at Loch of the Lowes, normally known as Lady, also had several names depending on what forum or Group you were a member of, one that I can remember was Madge!   So if people feel so strongly about the name, why not just call her Mistle on this Forum, I see no harm in that at all. 

Great opening summary Scylla thanks and that’s with you feeling poorly, can’t wait to see your posts when you’re better!! (Which I hope is very soon )

Am I right in thinking LG didn’t like the name Mistle as it sounded like Missile?

I remember now you’ve said that Glider, that it they did say it sounds like missile. It sounds a very strange excuse for not putting Mistle on the voting list.

Many thanks everyone for the posts. It seems there is not only drama with the Ospreys but always in the human community, too. I hope I magically turn into twins for the summer so that I can more closely follow this nest and a growing number of other Osprey nests this season! As my sister is fond of saying, "So many birds, so little time!"

Scylla, Hope you are feeling better. One of my relatives (a grandmother's first cousin) always resorted to raw garlic (and almonds, but not at the same time as the garlic!) It seemed to work for her--she was rarely ill and lived to age 92. Since you spend so much of your time alone, posting snaps and videos here, on YouTube and I don't know where all else, at least the enormous banks of your computers would not be put off by the after effects of eating raw garlic--Lol! But you probably need to slather it with something oily to dampen the sting...In Barcelona, Spain, they rub raw garlic cloves on hard toast and add olive oil and fresh tomato; it is a very yummy appetiser, but I suspect the garlic is fresh, probably not the older, drier garlic in the UK--doesn't taste exactly the same here. The sunny climate and local wine probably help, too...(By the way, my relatives are not Spanish!)

Many thanks for the OP at LG 2023. It is the one close to my heart, as it is the first nest I followed 11 years ago now, with our beloved EJ and Odin and the only place I have been to, have visited twice. Loch Arkaig and Lowes will be the other two that would be suitable for me to visit (4ish hours from home, fitted in with a holiday) but the others sadly, are too far away. I hope Axel and Mistle (Asha) return safely and have another successful year. I also hope that our fellow contributors, who have left us, return to be with us again and we can all enjoy following our beloved birds together.